A seriously entertaining collection of feelgood stories guaranteed to put the smile back on your face written especially by ten bestselling novelists: Jenny Éclair Mark Watson Veronica Henry Eva Verde Richard Madeley Katie Fforde Dorothy Koomson Vaseem Khan Helen Lederer Rachel Hore
From a hilarious race against time to a moment of unexpected eavesdropping, from righting wrongs in rural India to finding joy in unlikely places, these stories are all rich in wit and humour, guaranteed to lift your spirits and warm your heart.
Stories to Make you Smile is a co-commission between The Reading Agency and Specsavers as part of World Book Night 2021.
Fanny Blake was a publisher for many years, editing both fiction and non-fiction before becoming a freelance journalist and writer. She has written various non-fiction titles, acted as ghost writer for a number of celebrities, and is a former books editor of Woman & Home magazine. She has been a judge of a number of literary prizes, including the Costa First Novel award, the Desmond Elliott Award, the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year award and the British Book Awards. She is also the commissioning editor for Quick Reads and a book reviewer. Mark Watson is an acclaimed novelist and comedian, best-known for his appearances on Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow as well as the Edinburgh Fringe. In 2010 his 50-date solo stand-up tour will play to over 60,000 people. Richard Madeley left school at 16 to be a cub reporter on his local paper. By 19 he was a deputy editor, and that same year joined BBC local radio in the newsroom. He went on to work as a reporter/presenter for Border Television, Yorkshire Television (where he covered the Peter Sutcliffe serial murders) and Granada Television, meeting fellow reporter and wife-to-be Judy Finnigan. The two went on to launch ITV's This Morning programme, and after 13 years joined Channel Four for their eponymous teatime series, which ran for eight years. Richard now works as a freelance, covering for Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain, Michael Ball on Radio 2, and live TalkRadio programmes. He has written three Sunday Times top ten bestsellers and is currently working on his fourth novel. He and his wife have run the hugely influential Richard&Judy Book Club in association with WHSmith since 2010. Rachel Hore worked in London publishing for many years before moving with her family to Norwich, where she taught publishing and creative writing at the University of East Anglia before becoming a full-time writer. She is married to the writer D. J. Taylor and they have three sons.
